Best and worst states to retire in the United States

[jamesbond]

Analysts compared the states based on affordability, quality of life and health care.

[Yohan]

I don't think there is any good reason to retire in USA - as a male US-citizen you are surely better off to retire somewhere else.
Except of course you are very rich, in that situation you can retire everywhere.

To retire outside of USA does not mean you should give up your citizenship or cut otherwise totally your connection with USA.
However to live outside of the USA for most of the time will help you to save money and to improve your quality of life.

Where you go is up to you, however US-citizenship is not bad, you can settle down in many countries and if you really have a problem, airtickets are cheap, easy to go back home if you think that's the better choice.

[MrMan]

I don't think there is any good reason to retire in USA - as a male US-citizen you are surely better off to retire somewhere else.
Except of course you are very rich, in that situation you can retire everywhere.

Lot's of people have children and grandchildren and want to retire near them.

[IraqVet2003]

I don't think there is any good reason to retire in USA - as a male US-citizen you are surely better off to retire somewhere else.
Except of course you are very rich, in that situation you can retire everywhere.

To retire outside of USA does not mean you should give up your citizenship or cut otherwise totally your connection with USA.
However to live outside of the USA for most of the time will help you to save money and to improve your quality of life.

Where you go is up to you, however US-citizenship is not bad, you can settle down in many countries and if you really have a problem, airtickets are cheap, easy to go back home if you think that's the better choice.

Yohan you have made a good post!!! I would like to add for some men a few of the best countries to retire to (because of factors such as a warmer climate, lower cost-of-living, beaches, etc.) are the following:

North America:

1.) Belize

2.) Costa Rica

3.) Panama

4.) Mexico (the further from the U.S. border the better)

South America:

1.) Colombia

2.) Brazil

Southeast Asia:

1.) The Philippines

2.) Thailand

Africa:

1.) South Africa (Cape Town)

2.) The Gambia

3.) Ghana

Europe:

1.) Spain

[Yohan]

I don't think there is any good reason to retire in USA - as a male US-citizen you are surely better off to retire somewhere else.
Except of course you are very rich, in that situation you can retire everywhere.

Lot's of people have children and grandchildren and want to retire near them.

I noticed often that people from USA are not very flexible, just insist on this or that.
It is up to the individual to decide what is the best for him of course.

In this case you mentioned above, it is not bad to create a 'second home' abroad.
No need to be ALWAYS and FOREVER away from USA, as I also mentioned in my previous post.

I will be all summer season in Thailand and not in Japan, and already my older daughter+child+husband are planning to visit us.
My wife does not want to stay so long, so she will stay only one month and not two months.
My younger daughter also is considering to come for a week or so...

Why should older people always follow the younger people? It can be also the other way...

[Yohan]

Yohan you have made a good post!!! I would like to add for some men a few of the best countries to retire to (because of factors such as a warmer climate, lower cost-of-living, beaches, etc.) are the following...

I agree with you too. It is not always about giving 'priority to women' when deciding to live abroad after retirement.
Important factors as you said are 'warmer climate' 'lower cost-of-living' 'beach if you like to be near to the sea or a lake' and also 'available and affordable medical care' 'allowed as a foreigner to buy your own property' etc. etc.

About a list - where it is better or worse - it is difficult to say, as the circumstances of how people are living in Western countries are different from individual to individual.

For example Thailand vs. Philippines is a never ending discussion. The truth is somewhere in the middle, both countries have advantages and disadvantages.

We have to take into consideration criminality, communication with locals, long-stay visa, medical care...etc.

About myself, I moved away from Europe to Japan, but now retired, I have a 'second home' in Thailand, Pattaya.

For example, many retired people from Scandinavia prefer to spend winter time - which is terrible cold and dark in Northern Europe - in Thailand, but move back to Norway etc. during summer time, often only for a few months to keep a small accommodation as address and their European social benefits and health care insurance.

Retirement abroad does not mean to stay abroad forever without any choice to return to your native place.

Nowadays airplanes are not really comfortable, but cheap. I am also moving between Japan and Thailand every 2 months or so, 3 times a year, and also visiting other countries nearby.

[Adama]

FL is still number one. That's probably the last warm place that is relatively cheap. TX and AZ are out of the question.

[thighlander]

I am looking at a house for sale right now in Nevada...it is modest, but has a garage...and property taxes are under 400 per year. Prostitution is legal, You can legally have six pot plants as a single person, gambling is legal, and their is a hospital and Interstate 80 right in the small town of 3000. Only four countries produce more gold than the state of Nevada. No income tax. Asking price is 35,000 USD....7 hours drive to San Fran, if you need to hop on a jet to Bangkok, or remind yourself how bad California sucks.

Generally, I thought the data presented was reasonably accurate, especially for BI, which often publishes rubish.

[Moretorque]

Fl has 22 million people now and real estate is no longer a bargain here at all. This place is not what it used to be at all....

[Adama]

Fl has 22 million people now and real estate is no longer a bargain here at all. This place is not what it used to be at all....

Prices probably gone up from the past, but for those from other states, it can be a large difference. Also, advantage beach and ocean views, warm weather.

[Moretorque]

Joel Skousen made a very interesting point in the fact he feels FL is the worst place to be in a quick collapse situation, there is no where to go to get out but north and it will be a stampeed for the exit if this happens and it may.

FL 50 years ago had a population of about 7 million or so and could live in it's local eco if need be, you want to be where the local eco can sustain itself.

We are waiting for all the idiots to wake up and call socialism communism for what it is, the plutocracy of the creditor class maintaining it's power by the stupidity of the mass collective......

[thighlander]

We left my Miami after I was born. My parents just bought their sixth house in Virginia, 54 years later. Dad just says VIRGINIA is a pretty sensible place, and never really considered retiring in FLA. 0 of six cousins in FLA managed college degrees, while we were 3 out of three in Virginia. Pensacola looks doable.